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'Nothing on this page is real'

How lies become truth in online America

Overview

The piece is about a liberal, Christopher Blair, who tried to inoculate people against false online narratives by creating the most outrageously, ludicrously false stories he could, aiming them at conservatives, and *then* -- when they bit, and made it go viral – attempting to humiliate them.

Why is this important?

This article illustrates the difficulty in using humiliation and ridicule to inoculate people against false online narratives. It shows how clearly marked satirical articles to go viral online, and propagate as fact, especially when the story reinforces a preexisting narrative.

Creator

Eli Saslow

Publication Date

November 25, 2018